Audible alarm for vehicles



L. H. MORGAN.

AUDIBLE ALARM FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.24. 1918. Hummm-22,1920.'

PatentedAug. 10,1920.

I I* L llllmlmlll ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

LEWIS HOWELL MORGAN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR`TO THE AMERICAN AUTO ALARM COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, Ofi-11G, COBJPORATXON OF OHIO.

AUDBLE .ALAltM FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1920.

Application filed January 24, 1918, Serial No. 213,520. Renewed June 22, 1920. Serial No. 390,790.

b @ZZ wlw/n it may concern:

Be it known that l, Lnwrs H. MORGAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Audible Alarm for Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. Y

T his invention relates to safety appliances for vehicles, especially Iautomobiles, and has particular reference to a means whereby the loud ring of. a bell, or its equivalent, is caused to suddenly and unexpectedly take place when any unauthorized person attempts to move or remove the vehicle.

Among the objects of the invention, therefore, is to provide improved facilities whereby when the vehicle is left standing unguarded it may be so adjusted. or equipped that it cannot be moved without authority without the sounding ofa loud alarm, pro vision being made, however, for the adjustment of the alarm devices so that when the owner or other. authorized personV is about to start the vehicle the alarm devices are rendered inoperative.

More definitely stated this improvement includes a gong, means to ring the gong, and shiftable means controlling `the action and position of the gong ringing devices with key controlled means to determine the position of the shifting devices.

A still further object is to provide an alarm device of the character above indicated that may be easily applied to any knownV or standard vehicle in which there is` a rotating shaft.

Vith the foregoing and other' objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof4 .reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and inwhich- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the line 1-1 of Fig. 2 and Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, I show at 10 one of the floor boards of the vehicle body beneath and parallel to which operates a rotating shaft 11 such for example as the transmission shaft between an automobile engine and the differential. Y

In some types of automobiles the shaft 11 is incased in a sleeve or housing 12 which ordinarily is stationary and within which the shaft 11 is adapted to rotate freely;

My limproved mechanism is substantially all inclosed within a casing 13 secured to the bottom surface of the floor board 10, the end walls of the casing being'- provided with elongated openings or` slots la through which the shaft 11 and its housing project loosely so as to provide freedom of movement Avertically between the body of the vehicle and the transmission shaft.

15 indicates a gong supported upon a rigid standardl fixed to the rear wall'of the casing in any suitable manner.` Adjacent to the standard is a bracket 17 also secured to the same wall or which may constitute a part of the standard structure. The main or eifective partof the bracket extends horizontally parallel to the standard 16 and is provided with a downwardly projecting arm 18 to which is secured a linger 19 which extends horizontally across the general plane of the gong. v

Pivoted at 2O `on'the end of the bracket 17 isa lever y21 of the first class. At the rear end of this lever is pivotally secured at 22 a link 223 having pin and slot connection with a foot operated plunger 24 ei;- tending through a hole25 in the floor board. The pin and slot connection 26 between the plunger and ,the link provides a certainA amount of relative endwise movement bel tween these two parts, but prevents relative rotation between them. The plunger is provided on one side with spaced notches 27 into which a key controlled locking bolt 28 is adapted` to engage `in alternation so as to `positively hold the plunger either up` as shown in full lines or down as shown in dotted lines. Except as justV described the notched portion of the plunger is smooth and preferably cylindrical. lVith this part of the plunger a fixed guide 29 cooperates to maintain the plunger in erect position and hold it for proper cooperation with the locking bolt 28. It is tothe noted, however, that with the plunger locked as shown the link is adapted to reciprocate up and down as far as permitted by the pin and slot connection. l/Vhen the locking bolt is released a strong coil spring having one end fixed to thefinger 19 and the other end fixed at Sl'to the lever 2l on the opposite side of the pivot 20 thereof from the link 23V tends to hold the link elevated. Y

The front end of the lever 21 has journaled in or upon it a long pinion 32 which when this end of the Vlever is down meshes with a master gear 33 clamped upon the shaft ll and hence is rotated from the shaft when the vehicle is in motion. Fixed to the pinion 32 is a lcross-head 34 to theends of which are loosely hung or pivoted at 35 a pair of clappers 36 which are thrown out by centrifugal force `when the pinion is rotated from the master gear and are so caused Vto strike violently against-a gong. Thev pinion 32 is preferably considerably longer than the width of the master gear so as to insure proper coperationl between the two toothed members even though the shaft may have a certain Vamount of endwise Inovement with respect to the body in practice.

In order to clamp the master gear tothe shaft 11a gap 3? is cut out of thel housing` l2 on oppositeY sides of the gear 33. Inorder then to support the ends of the housing sections Irprovide a yoke 38 having two legs clampedV at 391 to the respective housing sections whereby the two sections are rigidly connected and prevent undue frictional contact with the driving shaft. The crotch portion of the yoke may coperatefwith a casing inany suitable manner so as to obviate any tendency for'the housing sections to ro-l tate. To this end I indicate the yoke as proecting downwardly through a slot 40 in the bottom ofthecasing. It willrthus be seen that Ythere ispnorinterference between the yoke and the housing with respect to relative vertical movements, but yet the yoke will prevent any rotation of the housing as well as holding the housing rigid.,V 1

, When the owner or driver of the vehicle wishes to operate the vehicle he applies his lfoot to the plunger `24 forcingit down into the dotted line position where it will be locked by the key controlled'bolt 28. .This movement of the plunger Vacting through the link 23'will swing the lever 2l into the ldotted line position and 'thus throwl the pinion far enough above the master gear to insure that there can be no engagement between thepnnongand the gear, andhence there will be no possibility for the device under these conditions to cause the ringing of the alarm. When, however, he wishes to leave the vehicle unguarded hel causes the plunger to assume the position shown in full lines leaving the spring 30 free Vto hold the pinion 32 in mesh with the master gear. Under these conditions, therefore, it is obvious that the rotation of the Yshaft due to the starting of the'vehicle and the accompanying rotation of the pinion 32 will cause a violent ringing vof the bell and so the'surreptitious driver will not only be surprised, but the authorities along the street will likewise be apprised of the fact that something is wrong.

l claim: V

l. In an alarm for vehicles, the combination with a master `gear fixed toa rotating shaft and a gong adjacent thereto, of means coperating with the gong'to ring the same including a pinion adapted to mesh with the master gear and means pivoted to the pinion to swing into engagement with lthe gong when the pinion rotates, and key controlled means to determine the position of the pinion with respect to the master gear.

2. ln an audible alarmfor vehicles, the combination with a rotating shaft, a master gear fixed thereto and a sounding device ad jacent to the master gear, of a pinion adapted to mesh with the master gear and so be rotated therefrom, means pivoted to the pinion and actuated therefrom to cause the sounding of the sounding device when the pinion is rotated from the master gear, a lever to which the pinion is connected,means acting upon the lever tending to hold the pinion in mesh with theV master gear, and means under the :control of the owner of the vehicle serving tohold the pinion outl of mesh with the master gear. Y

V3. ln an audible alarm for vehicles, the

combination with a rotating shaft,la master gear fixed thereto and a gong adjacent to the shaft, of a pinion adapted to mesh with the master gear, a crosshead carried by the pinion, a pair of clappers pivoted to the ends of the crosshead and so caused to fly out by centrifugal force into striking engagement with the gongwhen the pinion is rotated, and means to control the position of the pinion with respect to the master gear.

Lnwis i-iownni. Mone-AN. 

